Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,510,000 shares, a growth of 6.4% from the September 30th total of 3,300,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,100,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.2 days. Currently, 2.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CUZ. Barclays raised their target price on Cousins Properties from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Cousins Properties from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Cousins Properties from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Cousins Properties from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Cousins Properties from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.67.

Cousins Properties Trading Down 2.1 %

CUZ traded down $0.65 during trading on Friday, reaching $29.98. 1,303,583 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,299,264. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $29.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.56 billion, a PE ratio of 92.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 1.30. Cousins Properties has a one year low of $17.85 and a one year high of $32.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.60). The company had revenue of $209.21 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $212.54 million. Cousins Properties had a return on equity of 1.14% and a net margin of 6.17%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Cousins Properties will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cousins Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.27%. Cousins Properties’s payout ratio is currently 387.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cousins Properties news, CAO Jeffrey D. Symes sold 5,997 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.13, for a total transaction of $168,695.61. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 12,529 shares in the company, valued at $352,440.77. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,353,228 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $561,412,000 after buying an additional 456,251 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cousins Properties by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,140,948 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $357,910,000 after purchasing an additional 458,387 shares in the last quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Cousins Properties by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 4,898,757 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $112,377,000 after buying an additional 399,468 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Cousins Properties by 4.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,214,595 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $51,266,000 after acquiring an additional 98,222 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties by 75.6% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,917,908 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $46,107,000 after purchasing an additional 825,547 shares in the last quarter. 94.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cousins Properties Company Profile

Cousins Properties Incorporated ("Cousins") is a fully integrated, self-administered, and self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT). The Company, based in Atlanta and acting through its operating partnership, Cousins Properties LP, primarily invests in Class A office buildings located in high-growth Sun Belt markets.